Preludio
by jayer
Summary: Random moments can change your life forever.
1. Chapter 1

"Jordi"

"Si, Mami"

"I forgot to get milk. Go get some before the store closes, Mijo "

"Si, Mami" Jordi gave his grandmother a kiss. It would be a quick ride to the store.

"Hey Jordi."

"Hey Carlos." Jordi waved as he rode by.

"Jordi. I was just about to close up."

"Sorry, Rafael. My grandmother forgot to get milk."

"How's school?"

"Good." The old man nodded as he handed Jordi his change and the bag. "Be careful riding your bike home. It's starting to get dark."

"I will."

The ball came out of no where. Hit him in the back. One second he was on his bike. The next he was on the ground. His jeans were torn and he could see blood on his leg. His hands were scratched and bloody.

"Are you okay?" A man Jordi didn't recognize was kneeling next to him. "I"m so sorry. My boys didn't mean to hit you." Jordi could see two boys, maybe 10 years old, standing behind their father.

"It's okay. It was an accident." Jordi sat up. His head was spinning a little. "I'm fine."

"Your wheel is bent. I can fix it for you."

"It's okay. I can get my cousin to fix it this weekend."

"No really. I insist. My tools are at work. I'll give you a ride home and bring your bike to you tomorrow."

"Sure." Jordi reached for the man's offered hand. But when he stood up, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

He could hear noises, beeping noises. Voices. Bright lights stung his eyes as he opened them.

"Bad move." Jordi mumbled to himself

"Easy, son." A strange but soothing voice. He felt a hand help him sit up.

"Where am I?" Jordi cautiously tried opening his eyes again.

"At the hospital."

"The hospital?"

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Some kids hit me with a ball. I fell off my bike."

"You blacked out when you tried to stand up. You don't remember that?"

"I kind of do. Everything started spinning and then black."

"The man brought you here."

"My grandmother will freak out."

"The nurses found your ID in your jacket pocket. They called your grandmother. She's waiting outside with your cousin."

"Has she started yelling yet?"

"How did you know she was yelling?"

"My grandmother doesn't like hospitals."

"She wants to take you home but I'd really like to keep you over night just to be safe."

"She'll never say yes."

"I could simply refuse to let you leave. For your own safety."

"Please. Don't do that. I feel fine. I swear."

"Jordi, you may have hit your head. You could have a concussion."

"My cousin lives 3 houses away from us. If I feel bad I'll call him and he'll bring me right back."

"Okay, it's not my ideal but if you promise me."

"I promise."

"I want you go come back in two days so I can check that leg abrasion okay. Can you do that?"

"I'll figure something out."


	3. Chapter 3

"Jordi Palacios. I'm looking for Doctor Cruz."

"Jordi. Come on back."

"You want me to come with you cuz."

"No, Ramon. I'm good."

"Okay. I'll just chill out here."

Jordi followed the doctor back to the exam area.

"You're limping?"

"Yeah. My leg kind of hurts."

"Has that been just since the accident?"

"uh no. A little while longer."

"How much longer?"

"Maybe a month."

"Is it constant?"

"No some days it doesn't hurt at all. Mostly it hurts when I'm tired."

"Does it keep you from sleeping?"

"Sometimes. I take a couple of aspirin and it isn't so bad. It's like a cramp that never completely stops. Only it feels like it's in my bone."

"Why don't you get undressed so I can have a look at that abrasion. I'll be right back."

"Doctor Cruz is something wrong?"

"I just need to check something."

Jordi slid out of his jeans. He folded them and set them on the end of the exam table. It felt like ages before Doctor Cruz came back. There was a male nurse with him.

"Okay. Lets have a look." The doctor carefully removed the bandage. "That looks fine. Healing very nicely."

"Cool. So you can put another bandage on it and I can go."

"Jordi wait a moment."

"What?"

"I'd like to run a couple of tests."

"What kind of tests?"

"I'd like to get an x-ray of your leg and an MRI"

"Will that take long? It's just that my grandmother thinks my cousin and I went to the movies."

"About an hour. And I need an adult to sign the paperwork."

"My cousin is an adult. He can sign it."

"The cousin who brought you?"

"Yeah. Ramon's 19." Jordi wiped away the speck of blood from where he was chewing on his lip.

"Okay. Have the cousin sign the forms and then take Jordi to X-ray. MRI should be ready by the time that's done."

"It's something serious isn't it?" Jordi said nervously.

"Lets just do the tests. See what they say."


	4. Chapter 4

"The official name is an osteosarcoma. It's a fancy name for a tumor in your leg bone."

"A tumor? You mean cancer? I have cancer in my leg."

"I'm sorry, Jordi. But yes. You have cancer."

"So what happens now?"

"The common form of treatment is to amputate the leg."

"Cut off my leg." Jordi felt his stomach churn.

"The lower leg yes. If we act quickly you may not even need chemotherapy."

"Will you do it?"

"I'm not a surgeon. I want to send you to Mexico City. There are excellent surgeons at the children's hospital there. And a full rehabilitation center.

"If you're worried about your grandmother, I can talk to her. I can explain it to her."

"You can try."

Jordi saw in the empty room staring at the X-ray. Cancer. At best he would lose his leg. At worst, he could die. His head felt like it was spinning and his chest felt tight, like someone was squeezing him in a vise.

"No. No. No." He could hear his grandmother shouting. "No hospitals. No more doctors. I'm taking Mijo home." She stormed into the room.

"Señora Palacios. Your grandson's condition is very serious. We need to start treatment right away."

"Mijo doesn't need you. He needs God. God will take this demon out of him." She grabbed his arm. "We are leaving Mijo."

Jordi followed his grandmother and cousin out to the car. It was a quiet ride home. He'd been tossed around from cousin to cousin for years, finally ending up with his grandmother almost a year ago. The first few weeks had been interesting. He couldn't play on any sports teams at school because his grandmother wouldn't allow him to get the required physical exam. If he got a cold, she didn't give him cough syrup, she prayed. His cousin would sneak him cough syrup and bottles of aspirin. But there was nothing Ramon could sneak him that would fix this.

"Hey cuz, you okay? You look a little green." Jordi had been so lost in this thoughts he didn't realize the car had stopped.

"I'm tired. That's all."

"Mijo, you are tired because you don't eat. You go listen to foolish people." His grandmother nagged him. "I will make you soup. Make you strong to fight the demons."

"No, Mami. I'm not hungry. I want to sleep."

Walking to his room, Jordi could hear his grandmother scurrying about, probably calling Señor Vargas. The señor was the local faith healer. Jordi had meet the man once before when he was sent home with a rather nasty stomach bug. He thought the man was nice enough but all the candles, sage and strange mud concoctions had done was make Jordi throw up. His grandmother and the faith healer had said it was the demons being expelled. Apparently demons taste like old tamales and lemonade.

"Seriously cuz," Ramon stood in the doorway watching Jordi change into his pajamas. "You look awful."

"I'm fine. I just didn't really sleep the last couple of nights."

"You wanna come sleep at my house. My dad won't care, he's on nights right now."

"That's cool but Mami would throw a fit."

"Probably." Ramon shrugged. "Offer stands."

"Thanks."

Jordi pulled out the pain pills the doctor had given him. He quickly swallowed them before his grandmother could catch him. His grandmother could be quite the whirlwind when she was mad and she was already upset he had even gone back to the hospital. If she caught him taking medicine she'd go ballistic.

Jordi stretched out on his bed. He could hear his grandmother on the phone. He could hear mutterings about his mother having a child of sin, demons. He'd heard it all before. It wasn't that his grandmother didn't love him, in fact he was certain she did. She just had some strange ideas. Most of the time they were just annoying. This time, they were going to kill him.


	5. Chapter 5

Jordi's eyes stung from the leaves burning on the fire. He could hear the bleating of a goat somewhere near by and chanting of a least a dozen voices around him. He tried to let his mind drift, to forget where he was. But unfortunately there was a chill in the air that not even the fire to conquer. And the rock he was sitting on was getting to be uncomfortable. He really wanted to go home and curl up in his bed. Or to wake up and this was all a nasty dream.

He didn't realize at first when the chanting stopped. But it had. He could hear his grandmother thanking the Señor. He followed her silently to the car, driven by one of the other locals. Ramon didn't have enough belief to play along so he conveniently had to work. Jordi was rather jealous of his cousin.

Jordi waited until his grandmother had gone to sleep before sneaking out of the house.

"Hey cuz." Ramon smiled. "How hideous was it?"

"Boring and the sage gave me a pounding headache."

"And the fast?" Jordi's grandmother had insisted that he go two whole days without eating as part of the cleansing ritual.

"I could almost eat a whole goat."

"Almost?"

"Not quite hungry enough for the hooves."

"Well I'm out of goat but I do have fresh tortillas and some chicken from work." Ramon had found himself a job as a dishwasher at a restaurant and often brought home food, especially at the end of the night.

"Toss in a couple of aspirin and you're a saint."

The two boys quickly devoured the food along with cold beers.

"So any ideas?" In the week since the visit to the doctor they had debated several schemes to convince their grandmother that it wasn't a demon in Jordi's leg but something very serious and going to the hospital was vital. They had failed to come up with something that had any chance of working.

"One."

"Let's hear it."

"I don't have all the details worked out. Just something I've been thinking about. I just need a favor."

"Cuz, you know I'd do anything."

"Can I borrow your computer?" Jordi's grandmother wasn't just antiquated in her beliefs about medicine. She refused to let Jordi have a computer or a cell phone, nor was there a television in the house. She saw them as distractions and temptations. They were how demons infected children's souls.

"Knock yourself out."

Ramon's desktop was a noisy and rather slow creature, but he was proud of it because he had saved up and bought it himself.

"What are you looking for?" Ramon plopped on the sofa, picking up his guitar. He strummed a random melody.

"Information. Options. Allies."

It was hours before Jordi finally stopped. Ramon had fall asleep on the sofa. Jordi was as quiet as a mouse when he slipped back into his room and his bed. His idea wasn't perfect nor was it complete. But he was getting closer. He just needed a few more things to get it to work.


	6. Chapter 6

"Jordi. What's happened?"

"Nothing, doctor."

"You had me worried when you called and said you needed to talk to me right away."

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to worry you." Jordi blushed.

"No harm done." The doctor nodded. "Perhaps you'd like a hot chocolate, yes?"

"Thank you."

Jordi sipped at the drink the doctor brought in a few minutes later.

"Forgive me for getting straight to the point but emergency rooms have a way of getting very busy, very fast."

"I just wanted to ask you for some advice."

"Still trying to convince your grandmother?"

"No. That's a waste of time." Jordi reached into his bag and pulled out several sheets of paper. "I wanted to know which of these people you would pick."

The doctor scanned through the pages. "These are all doctors in the United States. Jordi, I told you there are excellent doctors in Mexico City."

"I'm sure there are. But Mexico doesn't allow children to be emancipated. Without that I can't get treatment if my grandmother says no. "

"What about your aunt and uncle? They could file a petition claiming your grandmother isn't competent enough to make such decisions."

"My aunt and uncle? Oh you mean Ramon's parents. He's my second cousin. And they won't do it. No one in the family will."

"Jordi I don't think this is a very good idea."

"Why not? I was born in Nevada that makes me a citizen of the United States. I checked."

"True. But what I know of emancipation it isn't that simple."

"I have to try something. Otherwise I will die."

There was a moment of silence.

"That is unfortunately true." The doctor sighed. He picked up the pages again and began reading them more closely.

After a long while, he finally set one page down. "This one."

Jordi picked it up. "Why him?"

"He trained at Johns Hopkins. Its one of the best medical schools in the United States, perhaps even the world. He's a pediatric surgeon with training in oncology and he's an attending with a very well respected record. If you are going to play the odds you are best going to someone with power. Also, if this biography is anything to go by, he's a bit of a radical. Published a paper on questioning whether full amputation for bone cancers is the best first course of treatment. Apparently the belief that it is not stirred up some hornets.

"Yes, out of these, this Adam McAndrew is your best bet."


	7. Chapter 7

"You're crazy."

"Perhaps but it's my only option."

"You really think you can just walk in there and get the guy to talk to you."

"I tried to make an appointment but there's a month long waiting list."

"Then wait the month."

"It's a month with a referral. And the hospital won't take referrals from doctors outside of the country."

"So it is a waste of time."

"No, it isn't. I found online that there's a law in California that an emergency room can't turn you away. I even asked Doctor Cruz to verify that when I went to get a copy of my file. He said it's true."

"So wha? You are going to just walk into the emergency room and tell them you have cancer and they will treat you?"

"No, not exactly. But I can tell them that Dr McAndrew is my doctor and he said to meet him there and they will have to get him. Once I can get into a room with him I'll ask him to help me."

"You're probably more likely to get struck by lightening."

"The odds are about the same as getting cancer."

"I don't even want to know if that's true."

"There's just one thing I need. I need you to drive me there."

"Drive you. To Los Angeles."

"Yeah." Jordi nodded. "I'll pay for gas and food. I'll even give you money for when you drive back."

"It's not about the money, cuz. How are you going to explain to Grandmother us disappearing for all that time."

"I've got that figured out also." Jordi handed him an envelope.

"Tickets to a Dodgers Game?"

"They aren't real tickets. I faked them in my computer class."

"We are going to tell Grandmother that we want to ditch school to go to a baseball game in Los Angeles."

"We aren't. You are."

"I am?"

"Yeah. You're going to tell Grandmother that someone at work helped you get the tickets as a surprise for my birthday. The game is supposedly next Sunday, three days after my birthday so it fits. We leave after school on Thursday and we can get to Los Angeles in plenty of time for the game."

"And what do I tell Grandmother when I come back without you."

"You won't have to tell her anything. Except maybe that you tried to stop me. The hospital will have told her by the time you get back."

'I don't know cuz."

"Ramon I have to do something. If you won't drive me I'll get a bus ticket to Tijuana and hitchhike from there."

"No way. Grandmother finding out I led you into a demon's nest is one thing. She finds out that you went on your own and she'll kill me."

"Then you'll do it."

"I'll crazy but yeah, I'll do it."


	8. Chapter 8

The first evening and even the next day it had seemed like they were just two kids on an adventure. The pair of them in Ramon's father's beat up truck. They had skipped messing with motels and merely camped out under the stars. Ramon had brought his guitar and they took turns playing it before falling asleep in sleeping bags they spread out on the truck's bed.

But when they woke up that last morning, before the sun was even up, things were more somber. They barely spoke during breakfast at a truck stop diner, even less once they were actually on the road.

It was a few minutes before 9 when Ramon pulled the truck into the hospital parking lot.

"This is it, cuz."

"Yeah."

"You sure about this?" Ramon asked as they pulled Jordi's bag from the back.

"No, not really."

"Got to try right?"

"Yeah."

Ramon gave him a hug. "I've got a feeling about this, Jordi. A good feeling. If anyone can do this, you can."

"Thanks, Ramon. And thanks for driving me."

"Anytime." Ramon reached into his pocket. "Here, take this." He held out his cell phone.

"I can't take that."

"Yeah, you can. I'll get another one. I make enough I can pay for them both. As long as you don't go crazy with the texting."

"I'll keep it for emergencies only."

"And take the guitar, you're better at it anyway." Ramon pulled the battered case out. "Now get out of here. Go save yourself."

Ramon watched as Jordi walked the few yards to the building. Jordi stopped at the door. He turned and waved, a weak smile on his face. Then he pulled the door open and went inside. He walked across a large, brightly lit lobby, the sunlight streaming in filling the room with a warmth that didn't seem to fit with it being a hospital. Weren't they supposed to be cold and sterile places.

"Excuse me?" Jordi stopped a gentleman in a suit. "Can you tell me where the emergency room is?"

The man pointed to a pair of double doors. "Through there, first hallway on the left."

Jordi followed the directions to another lobby. Paramedics were pushing gurneys, nurses and doctors scurrying back and forth.

"May I help you?" A nurse at the desk asked as he walked up.

"My doctor said to meet him at the ER."

"Who's your doctor?"

"Dr McAndrew. He said to page him."


End file.
